posted at 4:42 pm on August 21, 2012 by Allahpundit

Maybe ObamaCare won’t be so bad, guys. A couple of tweaks to IPAB, a little fine-tuning of those state insurance exchanges, and who knows? We might be able to duct-tape this boondoggle together and keep it aloft for a decade or two. If anyone can make it work, it’s President Romney, right?

Jennifer Duffy of Cook waves bye-bye to the prospective 51st vote for repeal:

#MOSen: moved the race to Likely Democrat.As long as Akin is running, it is unwinnable for Republicans. If he exits, it’s back to Toss Up.

Ed and ConArtCritic, who analyzes polls for Ace’s site, argue persuasively that the PPP poll this morning showing Akin up by a point is essentially garbage, as it’s based on a ridiculously lopsided Republican sample. (PPP is Kos’s pollster; go figure that they’d churn out some encouragement for Akin to stay in the race at a decisive moment.) A more realistic turnout model in Missouri would have McCaskill up comfortably by six or seven points, and that’s before the Democratic ad machine, now fully loaded with disapproving quotes from Akin’s fellow Republicans, goes to work on him.

But it’s apparently useless trying to point this out to the candidate: Paul Ryan called Akin personally yesterday to vent his disapproval and, just as I’m writing this, with less than two hours before the withdrawal deadline expires, Romney has issued a statement flatly calling on Akin to quit the race. Problem is, there’s really nothing the party can offer him to make it worth his while to go. Read this short but smart piece at Salon listing the many reasons Akin has to keep going. He’s old; he’s still got a more or less 50/50 shot at the Senate; he may or may not think his primary victory was divinely ordained, etc etc etc. If he were a younger pol, the GOP leadership might be able to tempt him with the promise of some plum position down the road if he plays ball now. As it is, the one and only argument his critics have is to ask him to put conservatism first and step aside to maximize our chances of repealing ObamaCare. You can see from his Huckabee interview this afternoon how seriously he takes that argument. Charlie Crist’s still the most nakedly careerist politician I’ve ever seen, but you’ve got to hand it to Akin: Even Crist never put his own ambitions above his party’s top agenda items.

He can still quit after today’s deadline passes, but to do so he’ll need a court order. Can he get one? As Nate Silver notes, four of the six justices of the Missouri Supreme Court are Democratic appointees, and Akin has no stronger supporters in America right now when it comes to staying on the ballot than Democrats. Meanwhile, if Priebus and Cornyn are serious about withholding money from this guy in the assurance that conservatives will blame Akin for the eventual loss, not them, I think they’re kidding themselves. Once it’s clear that he’s in the race to the bitter end, the calculus among many of his critics will shift from “he’s a moron” to “he’s a moron but he’s our moron,” such that if the RNC and NRSC cut him off, the dreaded Beltway RINO establishment will be blamed for not having done everything they could to make the best of a bad hand. (That would be less likely if McCaskill utterly crushed him on election day, but she’s sufficiently weak that she probably won’t win by more than four or five points. He’ll be competitive, sort of, down the stretch.) Never mind that the money they save might prove critically useful elsewhere; once Akin proves he’s a “fighter,” willing to tell both Democrats and Republicans to go to hell, that’ll earn him a certain base of populist support that will demand financial support from GOP treasurers on his behalf. And if they don’t provide it, they’ll be scapegoated, not him.

We’re 80 minutes from the deadline as I write this. While we wait to see if today’s pledge not to quit holds, here’s Rush Limbaugh via the Daily Rushbo.

Governor Scott Walker released the following statement today calling on U.S. Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) to remove himself from his U.S. Senate bid to unseat Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

“Representative Todd Akin’s comments were ignorant at best and completely outrageous. For the good of his state and for the good of his party, he should step aside immediately and allow someone else to run.”

Holding McCaskill’s seat is job one for Democrats, but obviously they want more out of Akingate. A lot more.

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Akin is the problem in Washington. An entrenched politician who can’t give up his perks for the good of the Nation/Party. I normally don’t get emotional, but this selfish a-hole is making me and quite a few other people very angry.

Once it’s clear that he’s in the race to the bitter end, the calculus among many of his critics will shift from “he’s a moron” to “he’s a moron but he’s our moron,” such that if the RNC and NRSC cut him off, the dreaded Beltway RINO establishment will be blamed for not having done everything they could to make the best of a bad hand.

As readers of this site well know, I’m not very sympathetic to the TrueCons. But they’re right there with everyone else calling for this guy to go, and I have no doubt that they’ll simply switch to a more realistic race if Akin’s intent on dooming this seat for us.

George Allen, Rick Berg, and Josh Mandel could always use some more help.

We’re screwed. Living here in Missouri, there are a lot of people who would have voted for Akin thst are now going to just skip that section of the ballot, myself included. This race was lost entirely do to this idiot’s ego.

Promise that this guy will become a pariah among Missourians for the rest of his pitiful life.

Governor Scott Walker released the following statement today calling on U.S. Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) to remove himself from his U.S. Senate bid to unseat Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

“Representative Todd Akin’s comments were ignorant at best and completely outrageous. For the good of his state and for the good of his party, he should step aside immediately and allow someone else to run.”

Pretty hard to overlook all the GOP heavy hitter criticisms and requests for him to leave. Can’t just walk those back and suddenly support him. We’d look even more foolish. He can’t win. If he won’t step down, isolate him and concentrate on other races.

I used the contact info on his campaign site to write him. Got a message back that the email addy is no longer a valid address.

CJ on August 21, 2012 at 4:47 PM

That is what’s pissing me off the most. Apparentyl he can’t take criticism and just clams up into a little bubble when he rightly gets blasted for it. It is clear he has no intention of listening to us, his constituents when we take issue with what he has done.

He is just like Claire McCaskill in that they like to stick it to Missourians.

Governor Scott Walker released the following statement today calling on U.S. Representative Todd Akin (R-MO) to remove himself from his U.S. Senate bid to unseat Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).

“Representative Todd Akin’s comments were ignorant at best and completely outrageous. For the good of his state and for the good of his party, he should step aside immediately and allow someone else to run.”

If Romney/Ryan win, wouldn’t Ryan, as president of the senate, be able to cast the 51st tie-breaking vote?

Wethal on August 21, 2012 at 4:51 PM

Yes, that’s true. And it’s also true that we’d control the agenda on the floor in that case as well.

But at this point it may be difficult even to get to 50. Snowe’s seat is probably gone, and Brown’s got a hell of a fight to keep MA. Meanwhile, we’re strong only in WI, MT, and NE. All others are effectively tossups.

That is what’s pissing me off the most. Apparentyl he can’t take criticism and just clams up into a little bubble when he rightly gets blasted for it. It is clear he has no intention of listening to us, his constituents when we take issue with what he has done.

He is just like Claire McCaskill in that they like to stick it to Missourians.

eva3071 on August 21, 2012 at 4:51 PM

I’d like Hannity to ask him how he thinks he’s gone to win if he can’t even leave his phone plugged in and his email working.

Does he think that this all magically goes away at 5:01 and no one will be emailing/calling his campaign or congressional offices? Um, I don’t think so. Not to mention, you can already see the Dem protestors showing up at his every single public appearance with signs about “legitimate rape.”

Once it’s clear that he’s in the race to the bitter end, the calculus among many of his critics will shift from “he’s a moron” to “he’s a moron but he’s our moron,” such that if the RNC and NRSC cut him off, the dreaded Beltway RINO establishment will be blamed for not having done everything they could to make the best of a bad hand.

No, not this time. I don’t want the RNC or NRSC anywhere near this guy. He is radioactive and any support for him will bleed into other races. If they were to cave and give him support, not only would they be setting a horrible example for other craven self-involved pols who put their own ambitions before the good of the party and the country, but they would serve as the link between Romney/Ryan and Akin, and we would probably lose the White House.

This is a disaster, but at least the RNC, NRSC, and Romney campaign have done their best to contain it.

4:55 Eastern time. Five minutes left to end Obamacare. After that, it’s the law of the land. I am wishing very bad things on this man. Very, very bad things. He is destroying my children, my grandchildren. I have the right to wish very bad things on him. I will continue to do so.

once Akin proves he’s a “fighter,” willing to tell both Democrats and Republicans to go to hell, that’ll earn him a certain base of populist support that will demand financial support from GOP treasurers on his behalf. And if they don’t provide it, they’ll be scapegoated, not him.

I don’t think so. There’s so much anger at this guy from both the conservative and not-so-conservative wings of the party that there’s just no way he can be supported. I’m expecting a massive poll collapse from him in the next couple of days. The Tea Party has, by and large, completely rejected this guy. Don’t get sucked into the conspiracy theory that the Tea Party is a secret front group for social conservatives.

At first I felt sorry for him because I know what its like to make a mistake, then get piled on. However, the way he conducted himself the last 72 hours is a disgrace for the State of Missouri. He is just fine with giving the rest of us the finger for his forlorn ambitions.

Once it’s clear that he’s in the race to the bitter end, the calculus among many of his critics will shift from “he’s a moron” to “he’s a moron but he’s our moron,”

Sorry AP, not gonna happen. He is too toxic now and the dems are going to try to bludgeon us with him because they have nothing else. I don’t want to claim him, and a 6-term House member should have the political sense to realize he’s no longer representative of the people, but only himself.

The guy is likely toast, but it is sad that we are depending on such an ill informed populace that one bone-headed statement is enough to disqualify the guy in their eyes. He’s a solid conservative on other issues. What does this say about our election chances in general that we’re depending on these morons to win the election?

4:55 Eastern time. Five minutes left to end Obamacare. After that, it’s the law of the land. I am wishing very bad things on this man. Very, very bad things. He is destroying my children, my grandchildren. I have the right to wish very bad things on him. I will continue to do so.

It’s not that this guy simply won’t get out of the race, he’s woefully clueless. He believes his sin was merely misspeaking one word; it hasn’t occurred to him that diving into the topic head first was a rotten idea. Nevermind for a second that he screwed up big time…if he doesn’t even understand the nature of his mistake, why would anyone trust his judgment in the Senate?

At first I felt sorry for him because I know what its like to make a mistake, then get piled on. However, the way he conducted himself the last 72 hours is a disgrace for the State of Missouri. He is just fine with giving the rest of us the finger for his forlorn ambitions.

Does he think that this all magically goes away at 5:01 and no one will be emailing/calling his campaign or congressional offices?

I will personally continue to blast him all the way to the election in revenge for what he has done to us. If he thinks this will magically go away like the rape-sperm, he has another thing coming. We will make him miserable, and then he will lose anyway.

Avid reader of HA but not much of a poster, but sometimes I can’t help myself. Akin has to go. NOW! The Dems will beat every Republican running for anything from dog catcher to President over the head with this guy’s words. Can you “excommunicate” someone from the Republican party?

Even if the Missouri Supreme Court were more in our favor, I am not sure that someone saying something stupid should be considered a valid reason to change it after the deadline. I can think of several scenarios where it would be justified, but not this one. In a general sense, it is not the job of the courts to save us from the consequences of making the wrong choice during a primary.

Of course, I don’t know the relevant Missouri caselaw on that point, so it may be worth a shot IF the guy changes his mind soon. But honestly? I don’t see that happening. The guy is stubborn.

I wonder how many folks here who once screamed at their fellow republicans to ignore everything and get behind the RINO Romney because no matter what he is, we have to stay loyal and hide our differences,like the democrats do? Just asking.

You are too stupid to be a senator. You are too stupid to have a chance of beating an extraordinarily stupid incumbent in a landslide GOP election. By hanging around you are simply allowing the chances of this nation obtaining a responsible senate majority to dwindle. I don’t care what your opinion is on abortion or gay marriage or any other stupid issue. This election is about saving our nation’s economy and thus preserving its strength. I know that it isn’t fair. I know that you were born stupid and taught by stupid people and that you can’t help but to be stupid. Life is unfair. Go away.

Listened to Hannity. Un- FRICKING-Believable – He is ENJOYING THIS. He has NEVER had this much ATTENTION. He LOVES THIS SO DAMN MUCH. We need to ignore him and hope that we can capitalize in other areas. At least Romney told him to get out.

Once it’s clear that he’s in the race to the bitter end, the calculus among many of his critics will shift from “he’s a moron” to “he’s a moron but he’s our moron,” such that if the RNC and NRSC cut him off, the dreaded Beltway RINO establishment will be blamed for not having done everything they could to make the best of a bad hand.

You’re dead wrong on this AP. Giving this fool any money would just allow Dems and media to tie the entire GOP to him and could cost Senate seats elsewhere. He’ll be treated as radioactive, as he should be.

Listened to Hannity. Un- FRICKING-Believable – He is ENJOYING THIS. He has NEVER had this much ATTENTION. He LOVES THIS SO DAMN MUCH. We need to ignore him and hope that we can capitalize in other areas. At least Romney told him to get out.
djl130 on August 21, 2012 at 5:03 PM

.

Agreed. He’s never going to win. He made his bed, let him lay in it. Tomorrow ppp will show a poll of Claire up by 5-6

Even if the Missouri Supreme Court were more in our favor, I am not sure that someone saying something stupid should be considered a valid reason to change it after the deadline. I can think of several scenarios where it would be justified, but not this one. In a general sense, it is not the job of the courts to save us from the consequences of making the wrong choice during a primary.

Of course, I don’t know the relevant Missouri caselaw on that point, so it may be worth a shot IF the guy changes his mind soon. But honestly? I don’t see that happening. The guy is stubborn.

McDuck on August 21, 2012 at 5:01 PM

You obviously don’t live in NJ where they make up the law if they don’t like it. At least Missouri has an opt-out clause after the 1st date. In NJ, Torricelli was past every deadline and the leftist court still replaced him. NJ elected a cadaver in his place that’s still in office.